


Crookshanks Sucks

by Navaie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: But it helps, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Talking Animals, talking to oneself really isn't all that healthy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-31
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-17 17:37:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1396627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Navaie/pseuds/Navaie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is in deep trouble. He doesn't know what to think anymore, it all went wrong. So, obviously, he has to talk to someone. </p>
<p>Who  better than a cat? It won't judge, won't run away (If you hold it hard enough) and, most important, won't repeat anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

“I need to talk. I know that it will probably shock you but right now, I need friends who can help me understand things. Will you listen?”

The cat only looked at him blandly. Frustrated, Harry shoved his face in his pillow. He had to do this. He had to rehearse because Ron would certainly not listen to him on the first try. He had to be organised, to be logical. With that, he would at least have Hermione’s attention. He looked up at the cat. It was still there.

“Ok. I’m going to tell you, Crookshanks. Listen, it was...”

\---

It was supposed to be an amazing evening. It was the birthday party of Seamus. It took place in the Room of Requirements, and all houses were invited. Someone told me some slytherins did come, but I’m not sure.

I drank too much, I think. I did not know where I was anymore; I didn’t hear anyone. I felt heavy, like a stone swallowed by the ocean.

Breathing was hard.

Seeing was harder.

Moving was impossible.

I couldn't do anything. My sense of touch was the only thing left because I could feel something like fire race on across my skin and leave burned spider web marks where it had been. It was almost hurtful. I could not think nor speak. I tried remembering where I was, how I got there, but shots of fire interrupted my train of thought.

The burning feeling rippled down my spine.

No, I had too... drunk. I was definitely drunk. My mind was a dazed mess, something I wasn’t unfamiliar with.

It was cold, but not where the fire was, cold around, but not on me.  Ah, yes, what was I doing? My eyes opened a bit, I think, but still, I couldn’t see anything, much less know what was happening to me.

I was almost lost in my sensations, they were so overwhelming. There were stars everywhere, they filled my vision with bright peaceful lights, twirling and racing and making pretty pictures in my mind. It felt delirious.

I gasped.  Fire had become lava, slower but hotter, burning the core of my body, reducing it to pieces. It was almost painful, the way my skin seemed to tear off on the burning trails. Burning trails that became more and more insistent, that seemed to tear down my soul, leaving it open and vulnerable, leaving bruises and burning and burning and red all over.

I had no control over my body; still, I felt the uncomfortable arch my spine made. My ears were ringing and my throat felt hoarse. I must have been screaming.

Suddenly, it all stopped. The incessant burning stopped. The stars stopped. Everything. My head was becoming clearer and I sensed a regain on my vision, my hearing, my body, but I still did not know anything about my position or where I was.

Sigh.

Wait, what was that? Was there...

-I love you...

The murmur was exactly that: a breath, almost not heard, not meant for any ears to catch. But mine did. It made me feel hollow, somehow.  

It was becoming colder and colder. I started shivering. I willed myself to stop, to pay attention to my surroundings, but I was still powerless. Something touched me and, head clearer, I finally realised what they were; hands.

That person, the one that spoke, they were still here, wherever here was. Their hands were dancing across my skin, caressing and warm. It felt more comfortable than earlier, when it was burning. Suddenly, I felt something cold and wet on my face. Some fell on my lips and it tasted salty. Tears. They were crying. I tried to sit up but once there, I found I was still quite dizzy. Moreover, my eyes weren’t fully functional yet and I couldn’t see clearly. Besides, I didn’t have my glasses on. They must have fallen somewhere. I heard the person get up, and run.

Now, I really was alone. Not a sound around me, only echoes of my own breathing.

Time passed. Once I fully regained my senses, I looked around to locate my surroundings and, more importantly, find something to hint at the identity of the person that was here with me. Nothing. I was in an empty classroom in a corridor near the Room of Requirements. I got up, put on my shirt, that was lying close, and went to the Gryffindor Tower. It was already morning which I found weird. I couldn’t have been gone that long. In the Common room were my friends, all dishevelled and tired-looking.  

“Harry, where were you? You weren’t in the dorm!”

That was Ron.

“I was in a classroom outside the Room, what happened?” I answer, uncertain. I don’t know why, but revealing all that happened, even if I didn’t really know what had actually happened, that night didn’t sit well with me. I wanted it kept secret.

“Well, one instant you were there, the other, you weren`t!”

Hermione intervened. “I did see you going out for air but that was-“

“Bloody hell mate! What happened to you?!” it was Dean who interrupted her. He was going out for breakfast. “Look at you! Some bruises you have there buddy!” He passed by without pause and got out of the Common Room.

Hermione jumped in to see more clearly. “It`s true! You have some bruises on your neck and...” -She then pulled on my shirt - “...on your shoulders!”

\--

“And those were actual bruises; my friends know the difference...” He shuddered. He did not want to think about that. “And so, continuing...”

\--

“Harry, what happened?” asked Ron, looking concerned.

“Nothing, nothing, no, Hermione, don't look so worried. I feel fine. I’m okay.” I look at them, a bit amused but at the same time intrigued. What happened to me?

Time passed, but I didn’t forget that night. I still racked my mind for something that I might have seen, although that was unlikely. Nothing came to mind.

One day, while Hermione and Ron were doing God knows what (Don’t think about it!), while I was lounging in the shadow of a giant bush near the Great Lake, I heard people approaching. It was Malfoy and Parkinson. It looked as if they were arguing, their voices much higher than ordinary. They did not notice me because that convenient piece of shrubbery, still bushy despite the cold september wind, obstructed their view. Deciding this wasn’t eavesdropping because everyone could hear them if they wanted to, I listened.

“This is important! Why couldn’t you say it sooner?!” the shrill voice of Parkinson filled the air. Man, could she shriek.

“Yes, because I oh so wanted to tell you” Malfoy mumbled. It seemed so much angrier than what I was expecting. Malfoy was pretty subdued those days. Now I really wanted to know what they were talking about.

“Draco, you know I want to help you right? Even when what you’re doing is a bit twisted, I’ll be there.”

“To support me or to laugh?” Draco said acidly. “That’s what you did earlier, don’t deny it.”

I did not see her face, but I assumed she looked hurt because she didn’t say anything in return.

“I’m regretting informing you.” he continued.

“Oh Draco, you know I’m always happy for some juicy gossip!”

“Exactly! You’ll probably go blabbering to the first idiot friend of yours and then,” Draco moved forwards “it’s me who’s going to get lynched.”

\---

“I then had mixed thoughts about Malfoy, but those were there way before this whole twisted shebang started. At the beginning of the school year, my seventh one but the eight of most of my friends, I had some thinking done. It was about him. He frustrated me. How was I to deal with him after the war? Of course, he had a role to play in my victory against Voldemort, so I couldn’t really hate him. Plus, I saved him from the fiendyfire so that was out. Then what did I feel towards the git? Thinking of him did not make my blood boil like before. Soon, I realised I didn’t even think about Malfoy much, because in my mind, he couldn’t have started forming schemes anym-” Harry blinked as Crookshanks jumped on him. The cat snuggled on his knees, shedding an enormous amount of fur, and looked up, expecting. Harry chuckled and started petting the fluff monster.

“I guess I felt indifferent, you know? But that didn’t last long because...”

\---

I was an idiot. I knew I shouldn’t have. I know. But it was too tempting! That night, out of curiosity, I opened the Map. Oh, I know I have some creepy tendencies when it comes to Malfoy. If I didn’t, there would have been no stalking in sixth year. I knew this, but I still opened the Map. I thought he would be in his dormitory, but that’s when I saw; it was almost midnight, way too late and cold to wander, but here he was, his black little dot moving in circles out on the school grounds. My curiosity spiked even higher. It was already at an abnormal level, because of his argument with Pansy, but with this, there was no going back. I had to know what was going on.

The following week, I took the Map everywhere so I could spy on him at any moment. Everything was normal except every night, he’d be awake very late and go wander on the school grounds. In classes, I sat close to him, tried to listen to his conversations. I got nothing out of them, if only faint whispers. After a week of weird looks, I had enough. I decided to follow him outside. Then I’d see what he was up to! I waited until eleven besides the fire, until the last student left. I grabbed my cloak of invisibility and ran through the portrait and didn’t stop until I was in front of the main gates. There, flushed, I saw that they were slightly open. Malfoy was already here. I walked out and searched for his silhouette. I found it near the quidditch pitch.

You know, I always thought that all of Slytherin wore black in their informal attire. That or green. But Malfoy had red pyjama pants. I just thought it would be fun to know.

He was mumbling to himself, walking rounds across the court, just as I had seen on the Map every night for a week. As I approached, I could only hear bits of what he was saying.

“Such an idiot....Damn Pansy......If only I didn’t say anything....What if...Happened?”

I was a bit confused by this. He clearly was in a fit against Pansy about something, but what, the mystery remained. He went in circles for some time and, at 2 o’clock, stopped and left. I was sitting on a nearby rock and so jumped down and followed him. Inside the great hall, I saw him going down to the dungeons and I couldn’t think of a reason to follow him there. I could always trace him with the Map after all. If he didn’t go to his dormitory, I would know instantly.

The next day, we both looked a bit weary when we ate breakfast in the Great Hall. Although, he looked grumpier than me. I was only tired, but him, he looked like hell had done him over. Even his hair, normally so perfect, was a bit tangled up that morning. I noticed nobody talked to him at his table but I thought nothing of it.

My friends were deciding what to do that weekend and I joined on the conversation, after my surveillance of Malfoy.

\---

They were now snuggled comfortably on Harry’s bed. Crookshanks purred loudly. It was close to midnight, Ron was still out, probably with Hermione. No one was in the dorm. Harry felt tired, exhausted. He was afraid someone would barge in, but he continued his story nonetheless. He needed this.

\---

And so, after that first night, I continued to stalk him. When I couldn’t sleep, I’d go out and watch him ramble for hours in the dead of night. I didn’t dare approach him enough to hear what he was saying. After all, he knew about my Invisibility Cloak.

Classes were going well. I always managed to snag the spot closest to him possible while still respecting the fact that Gryffindors and Slytherins didn’t mix. I watched him when we ate. He was always alone, even though he was surrounded. Sometimes, you could see some of his friends try to approach him, but each and every one of them got interrupted by Pansy and had to walk away. She was making sure that Draco was all alone.

As you can imagine, I felt bad about this. My saviour thing I guess.

“Hermione” I asked “have you noticed anything strange about the Slytherins recently?”

She looked up from her book. A frown passed her face as she answered.  

“No, not really. Although, I think I heard Parvati gossiping about Malfoy and Pansy...But you know not to listen to what she says Harry.”

A freckled shadow appeared over us and proceeded to sit down besides Hermione.

“Hey, what are you talking about?” said Ron, who was already piling food on his plate, not waiting for an answer.

“Well, Harry was just asking about the Slytherins…”

“Gosh, why?”

He started to eat and stared at me. I shuffled in my seat.  I didn’t want to tell them I’d followed Malfoy beforehand.

“Harry?”

I looked up, to see the questioning eyes of Hermione.

“Oh, I don’t know. I was just curious to see if they had been up to anything.”

Ron snorted.

“Well, as you can see, it’s pretty calm over there so don’t think about them! They know that if they do anything, Azkaban is waiting for them.”

I made a face at this. Ignoring the rest of their conversation, I turned around to stare at Malfoy. He really was alone.

His shoulders were hanging low, as was his gaze. I hadn’t seen that in a...in fact, I had never seen that look on Malfoy.

The following weeks were very normal. Neville managed to get three girlfriends at the same time. Poor bastard.

Either way, I was still following Malfoy all around school. Merlin, I even finished a Charms dissertation in advance just to have an excuse to follow him to the library. You can imagine how happy Hermione was. I had to fend off her questions, too, because she’s her and obviously she’d notice something in my behavior. Fortunately, I have a great poker face.

By November, I had a routine established. I’d get up at midnight or so, follow him outside and be back by three, so I could get a few hours of sleep squeezed in before class.

One night, as I left the Hall and descended the stairs to the courtyard, someone passed me in a flurry. They had black hair cut to the ears. Recognising the small frame, I hurried up. Breathless, I saw that they were already in a heated discussion.

“Will you stop harassing me!” Malfoy was screaming.

“Will you stop being a baby! I did nothing wrong!” Pansy replied in fashion.

“Well, I’m not the one that prevents my friends from talking to me!”

“You know perfectly well why I do that. You have to talk to him, since that night…”

He interrupted her.

“I don’t want to talk about it! It was a mistake! I should just let it go and never think of him again!”

His tone was brusque and angry. Fire raged in his eyes, his brows were furrowed, but at the same time, something in his face spoke of sadness. Pansy spoke up.

“Draco, you know as well as I that you’ll never forget him. Go to him.”

“And if he hates me for what I’ve done?”

“Then you’ll have to bash some sense into his head.”

She grinned mischievously. Draco looked her in the eyes. He sank on the ground, his stature shrinking and his shoulders shaking, from cold or tears, I didn’t know. And still don’t. Pansy looked a bit sorry for him, but also a bit exasperated.

“Honey, do you really think he remembers being “kidnapped”, as you so lovingly overdramatize?”  She mimed the apostrophes with her hands.

“Everyone was drunk, especially him, nobody would have noticed you taking the Golden Boy out for a walk...He probably doesn’t even know.”

As Draco looked up hopefully to her, I gasped audibly.

 

 


	2. Crookshanks sucks alot

“You know Crooks, I don’t really remember what happened next. It’s a great blur. I don’t remember getting in the dorm or getting ready that morning. The next thing I know, I’m shoved in a cupboard while on my way to breakfast...Bear in mind that I didn’t sleep that night.”

The cat moved around a bit, stepping on Harry’s stomach and licked his paws. He then sat there and stared, his whiskers twitching.

“You know, I think that you’re too intelligent for a cat.”

\--

“What do you want, Malfoy?”

“You were there, yesterday, you were listening.”

He looked a bit crazy, his hair all disheveled and a haggard look on his face. I mumbled incoherently as I was trying to understand what was happening. Did Draco just shove me into a dark cupboard? Yes. Why?

“Don’t lie to me Potter, I know you were listening yesterday, on the grounds.” He shoved me hard against the wall. “I know you have an Invisibility Cloak. I saw no one, it could only have been you.”

My head started to work again at that point. It worked, but barely as it did not consult with me before speaking.

“Why did you say you loved me that night?” I blurted out.

He stepped back.

“You heard?” he whispered.

He shook his head. His brows were furrowed, his mouth set in an angry line. Furry burned in his eyes. He brought his hands up, fisted, hesitating between hitting me or himself.

Finally, he opened the door and ran.

\--

“I guess I didn’t look that great at breakfast, because even Ron noticed something was wrong. I mean, they even dragged me to the second floor bathroom for questioning.”

\--

I sat on the tiled floor, exhaustion taking over my body.  Ron sat besides me and Hermione leaned on a cubicle.

“Why are we here?”

Hermione sighed. “Harry, did you know you tried to eat the napkins at breakfast? You are obviously very distracted and we would like to know why.”

Ron added: “Yeah mate, what’s happening? You haven’t been sleeping and you’re doing homework in advance.” His face scrunched up with disgust.

“Nothing wrong with that, Ron.” was his only answer, and it wasn’t from me.  I only stared at the wall more.

Hermione came to sit in front of me, worry lines etched into her forehead.

“Harry, what’s happening?”

“Nothing.”

“Really?” her worried expression turned into a disbelieving one.

“Really, nothing. I guess I’m just out of it this morning.”

She sighed as she got up.

“It’s fine if you don’t want to tell us Harry, but don’t think for a second I’m not finding out what’s wrong  soon.”

Ron stood straight to whisper something in her ear. They were talking but I couldn’t understand a word, the only thing on  my mind was the scared expression Draco had shown me earlier.

\--

“In hindsight, I really should’ve told them everything that morning. Everything would have been simpler.” Harry mused. It was very late, he could barely keep his eyes open. Maybe the rest could wait till morning….

His thoughts hadn’t even finished but he was already asleep.

 

He startled awake when he heard the door shutting in the dorm. He peeked out of his bed’s curtains to see it was only Neville, coming back late from a date, probably.

He lied down again but his thoughts were everywhere at once. He sighed. He knew he wouldn’t get any more sleep that night. So he grabbed a robe and as softly as possible, he opened the door and made his way to the common room.

The moon shined brightly and cast a soft glow and everything it’s light touched. Yawning, Harry went to sit on a plush chair when he was interrupted by a loud screech. Disoriented, he looked down and saw Crookshanks under him. He had been about to sit on a cat. He really should sleep, he mused. But instead, he took the furrball in his arms and flopped down on a nearby loveseat. Crookshanks snuggled on his knees and looked up at him.

“Yeah, I think you and I both deserve to talk the story to the end. So after that first “meeting” with Hermione and Ron…”

\--

I spent that week contemplating my life. No seriously. Malfoy had told me he loved me. You can’t imagine the reshuffling I had to do in my head. He was no longer in the “neutral” zone. He was somewhere between the cracks, unclassified and unclassable, and it bugged me.

Now that I knew that Pansy was behind Draco’s solitude for such a stupid reason, I wanted to strangle her. Has she not noticed what sixth year had done to him?

How destroyed he was? How everything made him bend his shoulders in a little more, until he was only a shadow of himself?

Nothing could justify that. Especially not me.

I shook myself out of my reverie and ran to class. I sat besides the window, furthest away from the Slytherins. I couldn’t stand watching them now.

The window showed a beautiful view of the forest and a small portion of the yard. Out to the left, I could almost see Hagrid’s hut.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn’t notice Hermione sitting beside me, leaving Ron to fend for himself against a couple of Hufflepuffs for a table.

“Harry, are you alright?”

I turned to her, surprised by the question.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, you usually sit in the middle of the classroom, for one.”

I dropped my eyes. Oh yeah. The Slytherins always sat on the other side and in the last few weeks of trying to spy on Draco, I placed myself close. I guess she noticed. I sighed.

“I don’t know, ‘Mione. I just felt like watching the forest I guess.”

Her eyebrows raised. “Look, Harry, we were serious when we told you Ron and I were worried about you. Something’s wrong, it’s obvious.” She lowered her voice, “You can tell me, you know.”

I didn’t answer and I tried to make my stack of books disappear instead. She tried too and got it in one try. A small smile appeared on her face.

“I know, Hermione. But I’m also surprised you still haven’t figured it out” I said jokingly.

She huffed but still laughed with me when Goyle managed to make his wand arm vanish instead of the books.

She didn’t mention the subject again, for which I was grateful. But I knew I wasn’t out of trouble yet.

 

The next weekend was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. I was a bit apprehensive but Ron and Hermione assured me that I wouldn”t be the third wheel, that it could be exactly like it was before they started dating. Which did nothing to reassure me because, even then, they spent a lot of time together or fighting.

But they were right. As we walked on the path out of Hogwarts, we talked about our classes and homework. Hermione and I teased Ron mercilessly because he hadn’t finished his. It was the first time I got to do that and I now understood Hermione better.

We entered the small village and paused.

“Where should we go first?” asked Ron.

“Harry?” Hermione said, looking at me expectantly.

I shivered. The wind was stronger here, on the main road, than on the grounds. The houses were bare and the cold seemed to freeze and kill everything, down to the last little flower.

“How about we go grab something hot? It’s pretty cold out here.”

I crossed my arms and tucked my hands under them. The autumn wind cut right through the fabric of my jacket and I shivered again.

Hermione laughed. She untied the scarf around her neck and handed it to me.

“Come on, we’ll get you warm.”

Ron rolled his eyes and marched ahead as I was thanking her.

“One day, Harry, you’ll remember to dress for the temperature outside.” She chastised.

“Promise.” I grinned at her.

We walked faster to catch up to Ron and caught the door to the pub just as it was closing behind him. He was already at the counter, ordering our drinks, so we grabbed a table in the emptiest corner we could find.

We were removing our coats when Ron came back with our glasses, frowning.

“Rosemerta still refuses to let us pay” he said, sitting.

We sighed.

“I don’t think she’ll ever let us pay, Ron.” I said, “She has a good memory.”

“But still! It doesn’t feel right!”

“Ron, don’t start complaining now, you really should-” Hermione started.

Smiling slightly, I leaned back and let them argue alone. I looked around the pub more out of habit than real wariness, but I still saw something that stopped me in my tracks.

Draco was here. With Pansy. They were arguing silently, their heads almost touching over the table. Why were they together? I had an inkling, obviously, but not enough of one to stay put. I told my friends that I was going to the bathroom, they barely acknowledged me, and went creeping around the room. I hoped I was inconspicuous but several clients proved me wrong when they called out my name loudly, inviting me to come join them. Cursing, I glanced back at Draco’s table.

Cursed again.

They were both staring at me: Pansy in anger and Draco in horror. He stood up, took his coat and bolted out.

\--

“Really.” Harry sighed, “There should be a warning when they let you in Gryffindor. “Yes you are brave and true and all that, and this house will help you be noble, yes, but know that it will also teach you to be rash and act without thinking”, because that’s what happened. I acted without thinking.”

Crookshanks looked at him severely. Harry rolled his eyes.

“Shut up. Not everyone can be as level headed as Hermione. I ran after him, only taking time to grab my jacket and ignored the odd looks your master and her boyfriend were giving me. He was walking fast, already down the street when I emerged from the Three Broomsticks. “

\--

“DRACO” I yelled after him.

He didn’t stop. I ran faster, catching up to him, following him closely as he turned in the more deserted routes of the village. I grabbed his arm and we stumbled to a stop. Breathless, I said “Please, Draco.”

His face spoke of fear and desperation. He looked wild, ready to jump at anytime. We were in a small alleyway, hidden from the main road.

“Draco.” I said. As I was opening my mouth again he yelled:

“Why did you follow me?! Leave me alone, Potter!”

I stepped away, taken aback by the outburst but my mouth was faster than my brain.

“Is it true? What you said? Was it-”

“Shut up!!” He pushed me away violently. “You don’t get to ask that! You’re a spying asshole and I should hex you right here and now!”

His wand was in his hand faster than I could comprehend. He was glaring at me, a true Malfoy glare, cold and cruel.

I was frozen. I didn’t want to get hexed. Keeping his wand pointed at me, he walked away. Turned the corner and was gone.

I sagged against the wall behind me. I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hands. It was a nightmare.

I wanted to know so bad. So, so bad.

But, what would happen if it really was true? Why would it change anything? He was Malfoy, he didn’t need to change categorization. Except he didn’t have one anymore. Right. Between the cracks, right into my mind.

I'm sad to admit that I didn’t get better. I thought about it -him- all the time.

I stared at him in class, when we were eating, in the corridors. I could see it made him uncomfortable, but I was so past caring.

 

One day, we were in the library, almost alone. I couldn’t concentrate on my homework and Hermione wasn’t there to nag at me, so I wasn’t getting anywhere.

My problem was that I couldn't tear my eyes away from him, a couple of tables further down. He looked stressed out and irritated, glancing at me every few minutes.

Each time his eyes would look up into mine,I would put my head down for a few seconds and then look back again. I couldn't help it. He was just so fascinating.

His fingers were strong and sure and everything in his attire screamed arrogant ass. That may be only me.

I wrote a word. Then another one. Stared at him some more. Make eye contact and look down, only to start all over again. we did this all evening without stop.

Write, stare, look down, write, stare, look down, write, stare...

His eyes were bright in the candle light. The sun had set and I could hear Madam Pince shuffling about a row or two over. We were staring at each other, neither wanting to look down.

Madam Pince turned the corner and let out an indignant screech.

"Boys!! What are you doing here? The library has been closed for an hour!!"

She shuffled us out of the library faster than lighting and closed the door firmly as soon as we had crossed the threshold.

I didn't look at him. I just ran to the dorms.

I sat on my bed, mind blank.

I dreamed of him that night.

\--

My staring -stalking- proved to be very instructive. I learned what he ate for breakfast, I learned his schedule by heart and could now tell the minute difference in his bland expression. I knew where he was at any given time. Although, he didn't wander much. Great Hall, dorms, library, Quidditch pitch. That was pretty much it when he wasn’t in class.

\--

“Note that I’m leaving out any mention of Hermione or Ron here. They were concerned, they knew that I wasn’t completely with them but they left me alone for the most part. After the war, they learned….They learned that my coping mechanism wasn’t talking to people. Anyone. So yeah, they, uh, let it go.” Harry said.

“There’s more to the story at any rate. They’ll come in eventually.”

\--

A couple of weeks before christmas, I was following him, discreetly I might add, to his common room. Not a soul in sight. I saw him glance towards me. Crap. I was discovered. He started walking faster, taking turns that definitely did not lead to his common room. In fact, some stairs were climbed and soon there were some windows gracing the walls. I couldn’t see him anymore but I heard a door close ahead. As I came to a stop, a bit out of breath, I opened the only door in sight. It was in a small dead-end and I could see part of the lake and a lot of trees from the windows.

A couple of desk were discarded in a corner and dust covered the whole room.  I stepped forward a bit and saw him by a window.

We stood face to face, neither one of us speaking, neither one wanting to speak first. The sun was setting and the shadows in the empty classroom made everything stand out in sharp relief.

As the last sliver of light disappeared, I said:

“Hi”

He nodded.

“Potter.”

“How are you?”

He laughed. “I  think that you know how I am, Potter. You are not very subtle, after all.”

I shrugged.

“Why did you follow me?” He asked. He looked bored but the alertness in his eyes betrayed his interest.

“Wanted to ask you something.” I answered.

When he said nothing, I added:

“Want to become friends? ‘s not like any of yours are talking to you.”

\--

Harry cringed. “Yeah, not my finest moment.”

The cat swiped his tail across his face and stared at him severely. He rolled his eyes.

“I know, okay?!”

\--

His face was open and shocked. After a moment, he laughed. It was a hysterical laugh, loud and sad. He looked at me, tear in his eyes, clutching his stomach, and told me the thing I didn’t think he would ever say.

“Why not? You’re right” he said bitterly “No one is talking to me. Except you. Why is that? You know what I did, you know how I feel. Doesn’t it bother you? Is this a plan to humiliate me? What’s in this for you?!”

He finished his tirade almost shouting.

“I-I don’t…” I stuttered “This isn’t anything like that…”

“Then what?” His eyes drilled into mine, steel and cruel.

“I don’t know.” I said softly, scared that if I talked louder, he would explode.

As it was, my answer deflated him. He slouched and massaged his brow.

“No one can know about this. I’m not about to get lynched because of you.” He looked at me fiercely. “Except here, you do not talk to me.” He enunciated slowly.

He picked up his bag and stalked out of the room, leaving me gaping like a fish behind him.

\--

“And that is how I became friends with Draco Malfoy.” He told the cat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not finished!!!! Stay tuned, but know that I write agonizingly slowly. thanks!!!


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